Submitted by Sean (not verified) on February 28, 2008 - 20:13.
I like many of the ideas that you examine. I think greater investment in individual student laptops as opposed to textbooks is an idea whose time has come. I would hope that the very presence of the laptops would force teachers to adopt more student-centered lessons, especially Problem Based Learning. I think that as educational software improves, teachers will be more apt to adopt it. The only thing you said that gave me pause is letting students have access to email and instant messaging at all times. Personally, I'm curious to hear more about this opinion. I sit in a class with doctoral students who have laptops. They surf the web, email, and chat at the expense of listening and participating in class. How would you expect 14-16 year olds to be engaged in the classroom with the curriculum if adults are not disciplined enough to to that?
Shaping technology for the classroom
Submitted by Sean (not verified) on February 28, 2008 - 20:13.
I like many of the ideas that you examine. I think greater investment in individual student laptops as opposed to textbooks is an idea whose time has come. I would hope that the very presence of the laptops would force teachers to adopt more student-centered lessons, especially Problem Based Learning. I think that as educational software improves, teachers will be more apt to adopt it. The only thing you said that gave me pause is letting students have access to email and instant messaging at all times. Personally, I'm curious to hear more about this opinion. I sit in a class with doctoral students who have laptops. They surf the web, email, and chat at the expense of listening and participating in class. How would you expect 14-16 year olds to be engaged in the classroom with the curriculum if adults are not disciplined enough to to that?